Core Response #2 - Daniela Velazco

    As I was reading Anna McCarthy's “Television While You Wait”, I couldn't help but think about how dated this article felt. Not only did I have to look up what Planet Hollywoods looked like, but I also wondered what she would have to say about the role of smartphones in brief moments of transition, let alone waiting at the doctor's office. Despite the article being dated, McCarthy seemed to be unintentionally looking toward the future when she stated: "We must ask how the presence of the screen shapes the experience of waiting as an activity" (McCarthy 198). So now in 2021 I find myself asking how the presence of a portable screen shapes the experience of waiting, the experience of waiting as an activity, and most importantly how smartphones shape the experience of waiting even when in the presence of other (bigger) screens. Now, I know I will not be answering these questions in this petite reading response, but I do want to scratch the surface by putting McCarthy's work in conversation with my favorite pre-covid experience: waiting in lines at Disneyland. 

    What I found particularly interesting about McCarthy's method is that her analysis was focused on  mostly environmental analysis, yet she seemed to not pay much attention to the only sentient beings in the environment: humans, or rather "the audience". One of the best things about Disneyland is the people watching as the park is filled to the brim with people from all walks of life and social classes (McCarthy's piece lacked a real discussion on the role of class in waiting). For those of us who cannot afford a VIP tour that allows those who can afford it the ability to skip the lines entirely, waiting tends to be how one spends the majority of their time at Disneyland, so smartphones and portable chargers are a given. It is fun watching people play games with their families using their smartphones to pass the time. Even so, "the screen's role" is no longer just "highly indicative of the temporal tensions that define the act of waiting", but also become part of the experience we wait for as well (McCarthy 199). Even though flash photography is not allowed, the bright light of the smartphone screen appears in the middle of the ride in order to take a video or a photo of the incredibly lifelike animatronic of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. 

    To go back to what McCarthy's focus was on, I want to discuss the exact screen I had envisioned throughout reading McCarthy's piece. Disney's California Adventure recently celebrated its 20th birthday just this past Monday. Within the last decade, the park has gone through some major changes in order to bring more people into the park. One of those changes was the addition of rides based off of Pixar films. In the Monster's Inc. ride itself, not the line, there are small TV screens attached to the ride that show "news coverage" of a human child. The only time this screen plays an active role in the ride is as a lead up to the "real" part of the ride, despite one already being on the moving ride itself. It really made me think about how impatient Disney patrons must seem so that Disney's "imagineers" felt the need to have these screens inserted onto the ride as a way, in a sense, to ease our impatience for the "real" part of the ride. I also find it interesting how one sees more TV screens as you get closer to getting on the ride. On the Incredicoaster (another Pixar themed ride), one does not approach a screen until you are about 3 or so minutes away from getting onto the ride. To add more textual analysis, the screen does not advertise $6 Mickey shaped ice cream bars, but rather plays a clip of the Incredibles family that was specifically created for the queue of this line. I suppose one can argue that the clip itself is advertising or rather promoting the sequel Incredibles 2 (which in my opinion needs all the promoting it can get). One could also make the argument that these clips may also be a way to drive people to buy Incredibles themed merchandise. As McCarthy mentioned in regard to a doctor's office, "the TV set [is used] to promote their practices" (McCarthy 203). Of course, there is a commercial aspect to everything Disney ™© does. 

    I could go on and on about the role of screens at Disneyland, especially because it is a large public space of waiting. Another thing I felt McCarthy's piece was missing was how people's viewing habits changed when they are conscious of being in a public space. How does their posture change? Would they be more or less interested on the screen if they are cognizant of sharing a communal space with others? There is much to think about on this piece alone and so many questions remain unanswered mostly because this is such a dated piece. Regardless, even 20 years later, it still has me thinking about communal viewing in a time when sharing spaces with strangers can prove to be fatal.